CPS: Teen accused of dumping baby thought newborn was dead

Girl is accused of leaving newborn boy in dumpster

By Anita Hassan |
February 26, 2014
| Updated: April 7, 2014 10:17pm

Houston police investigators collect evidence Tuesday from the dumpster near Almeda Mall where a newborn was found. Maintenance man Carlos Michel discovered the baby after hearing him whimper.

Photo By Cody Duty/Staff

Tammy Adams leaves court after appearing on behalf of a teen accused of abandoning her baby.

Photo By Mayra Beltran/Staff

Carlos Michel, flanked by Ricky Martinez, left, and an unidentified worker, said the baby he found in the dumpster reminded him of his 2-month-old grandson.

Photo By Cody Duty/Staff

The attorney and CPS caseworker for the baby boy leave court Wednesday. CPS was given temporary custody of him.

Photo By Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle

HPD works the scene where a newborn baby boy was found alive in a dumpster by maintenance worker Carlos Michel on Feb. 25, 2014, in Houston. According to Carlos Michel, maintenance worker at The Reserve at Windmill Lakes Apartment complex, he heard a sound coming from the dumpster which he thought is was a cat at first. When he heard sound again, after throwing a bucket of trash in the dumpster, he reached in and pulled a white trash bag with a newborn baby inside.

Photo By Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle

HPD works the scene where a newborn baby boy was found alive in a dumpster by maintenance worker Carlos Michel on Feb. 25, 2014, in Houston. According to Carlos Michel, maintenance worker at The Reserve at Windmill Lakes Apartment complex, he heard a sound coming from the dumpster which he thought is was a cat at first. When he heard sound again, after throwing a bucket of trash in the dumpster, he reached in and pulled a white trash bag with a newborn baby inside.

Photo By Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle

HPD Investigators swift through items inside the white trash bag where the newborn baby boy was found on Feb. 25, 2014, in Houston. According to Carlos Michel, maintenance worker at The Reserve at Windmill Lakes Apartment complex, he heard a sound coming from the dumpster which he thought is was a cat at first. When he heard sound again, after throwing a bucket of trash in the dumpster he reached in and pulled a white trash bag with a newborn baby inside.

A 16-year-old girl accused of putting her newborn in a Houston dumpster didn't know she was pregnant, a CPS caseworker testified Wednesday during an emergency custody hearing for the boy.

The girl, who gave birth in her bathtub, thought her son was dead, the Child Protective Services caseworker told Harris County Juvenile Court Associate Judge Angela Ellis. After the birth, the teen allegedly cut the umbilical cord herself and later placed the baby in a dumpster at The Reserve at Windmill Lakes apartments, 9988 Windmill Lakes Boulevard.

Carlos Michel, a 51-year-old maintenance worker, discovered the newborn, who had been stuffed in a white trash bag, around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday after hearing faint whimpers coming from the dumpster. The mother, who police said attended South Houston High School, and child were still in Houston hospitals Wednesday night.

The CPS caseworker told Ellis the teen's mother lives in Alvin, but the girl has been staying with her aunt. The caseworker said the teen told her she had not spoken to the 22-year-old man she said is the father in about six months. The girl said he did not know about the pregnancy or what happened after she gave birth.

Once the girl has been released from the hospital, investigators will speak with officials at the Harris County District Attorney's Office to determine what, if any, charges will be referred to Harris County Juvenile Probation, police officials said.

Ellis on Wednesday granted CPS temporary custody of the newborn.

CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin said caseworkers asked the teen if she wanted to name her son.

The girl decided on Carlos, after the maintenance man who found him, Olguin said.

The judge said she would allow the teen to have supervised visits with her baby if the attorney assigned to represent the newborn agreed. CPS officials are also working to determine if there are other family members who can care for the boy or if the baby will need to be placed in a foster home once released from the hospital.